James and Sarah have
led me a merry dance! They first appeared as the most likely parents of
my GG grandfather William Burge, born in Frome (as he said he was on the
1851 census) in 1805. They had another son, John, Baptised in Frome in
1811. Then they disappeared. It took me a long time to find their marriage
in Whatley - the elusive marriage between a Burge and a Gulley that I had
tried to find for many years. A number of their descendants are named "John
Gulley Burge", so there was a high probability of this marriage happening
at some time. I am still looking for the original "John Gulley"
- if indeed that was his name, Sarah's family are still eluding me (see
below for some possible clues... if you happen to be attached to this family
I'd LOVE to hear from you!!!)

James and Sarah Burge married by licence in
Whatley on the 5 November 1804. Sarah's name was listed in the register
as 'Sally', but she signed her name 'Sarah Gulley'. The witnesses to the
wedding were Elizabeth Burge (who may have been James' sister) and John
Broom. Sally/Sarah was listed as 'born this parish'. They had two children
Baptised in Frome - William James 1805, and John 1811. I was also to find
Henry 1815, and Thomas 1817 much later.

It took quite a few years again for me to
get beyond that point, until my cousin Tami found them in Corsley, Wiltshire
- only three miles from Frome, but a long way as far as searching all the
tiny villages in the area! .

St Margaret of Antioch Church, Corsley, Wiltshire.

James was the son of Henry
and Frances (nee Lacey) Burge of Whatley. He was a carpenter,
as was his father and many of his descendants. It is possible he was in
Corsley working on either Corsley House, completed in 1814, or Sturford
Mead, home of the Fussels, and later the Thynne families. He died at 42,
and Sarah at 37, so it's likely both were as a result of accidental death,
or of Sarah in childbirth.

Of Sarah/Sally, I can confirm absolutely nothing
other than her marriage and burial dates.

There was a marriage in Whatley of William
Gulley and Ann Guning 8 Feb 1762. I like this marriage for the most likely
to have been Sarah's parents purely because there weren't any William's
in James' family, but that's what they named their first born son. I have
no proof of that though!

The only other clues I have as to her family
are as follows:

* The marriage in Cloford of James
Gulley and Elizabeth Hurford of Whatley 3 April 1727 - who are possibly
Sarah's grandparents. (Many Whatley residents chose to marry in Cloford
- it may not have any family significance).

* The births of Thomas Gully,
son of James & Elizabeth Gully baptised 16 Jan 1796 in Frome, and Elizabeth
Gully daughter of James & Elizabeth Gully baptised 12 Jan 1798 in Frome.
James may be either Sally's father or brother.

Any of the above could be Sarah's direct family...
maybe time will tell.

.

.

James and Sarah's children were as
follows:

.

Name

William James

James

Elisabeth

John

Henry

Thomas

Date & Place of Baptism

30 Nov 1805 Frome St John

15 Nov 1807 Corsley

4 May 1809 Corsley

28 Dec 1811 Frome St John

04 Mar 1815 Frome St John

16 Aug 1817 Frome St John

William James was my gg grandfather, and went
on to marry Mary Greenway in Lyncombe and Widcombe, Bath, in 1830, and
spent his life in Batheaston, Somerset. His family may be found here.

James married Esther
Hopkins 28 April 1833 in Batheaston and had a daughter Elizabeth Ann, baptised
in Batheaston on 4 June 1837. By the 1841 census, they still had only the
one child, and were living at Potts Garden, Post House Hill, Batheaston.

John next appeared in
Hilcott, near North Newnton, Wiltshire in 1841 and 1851, as a master tailor. Unfortunately there is absolutely no indication that he was ever a tailor for royalty, as some other family historians have him.
He married Eliza Springbett before 1841, and had children Meshach about
1844 and Henry about 1846. The family immigrated to South Australia in
1855, where Meshach went on to be the patriarch of the line that
now operates Grant Burge Wines. Thank you to my distant cousin Marianne for the 'nudge' that led to my discovery of this
line of the family.

Henry (listed as a carpenter,
son of James Burge, carpenter) married Ann Morton (dressmaker, daughter
of Joseph Morton, Tinsman) on the 14 Jul 1839 in Batheaston. Witnessed
by James Burge and Esther Burge. Their children were: Joseph Morton
Burge, baptised 6 Dec 1842 who died at 3 months and was buried 13 Dec 1842
in Batheaston. Their daughter Anne was baptised on 6 Feb 1844 in Batheaston.
FreeBMD has a Henry Burge died age 63 in the Bath area in 1878 - if this
is our Henry he'd have been born circa 1815, which fits.

There was a Thomas Burge died age 1 and buried
Feb 21, 1818 in Corsley, highly likely Thomas from above, but his parents
names were not listed on the death register.

I don't have any definite
records for Elisabeth, but am still looking. If anyone knows where she
is I'd appreciate hearing from you!

I think it likely that
William, James, John and Henry at least went to Batheaston (13 miles from
Corsley) as children after their mother or both parents died, to live with
their uncle Meshack, a wheelright, son of Henry and Frances Burge. Meshack
and his wife Charlotte are recorded as having children in Batheaston from
1822 onwards.

.

..

Meanwhile... I'll put all the rest
of my Burge's in Frome info on here... just in case they're
yours :-)